Conjunction
Chapter 5 - The Other Side
Solona and Lusa emerged from the Eluvian into a lush, green forest. She saw what appeared to be Elven ruins surrounding the small clearing where the Eluvian stood. Beneath her feet were mossy stones, when she bent to look more closely she could make out intricate patterns of different colored stones that radiated out in a starburst from the Eluvian. She walked into the clearing a few paces then turned to look back at the Eluvian and saw that this one seemed to be made entirely of thick green vines, rooted to the earth at the base and twining around each other to frame the now smoky surface inside the portal she had just passed through.
She caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head towards it. Lusa barked sharply and raced to one side of the clearing in the direction of the movement. He stopped at the base of a large broken pillar, continuing to bark at something he saw at the top. She looked up and had to strain her eyes to make out the figure crouched at the top of the pillar. When she drew closer she saw what appeared to be a young woman with green tinged skin and hair that snaked over her shoulders and arms like the vines that snaked around the column she rested atop. She had a small bow with an arrow trained on Solona.
"Lusa," she scolded, "come to me." The dog obeyed and rested on his haunches by her side, still watching the woman on the pillar intently.
"Hello?" Solona said, tentatively, craning her head up to look at the woman.
The dryad's bow remained aimed at Solona's heart.
In a lilting, melodious voice the young woman said, "Greetings, Gwynrhena, you have been expected."
She lowered her bow and placed the arrow back in the quiver on her back.
Solona slowly let out the breath she'd been holding as she watched the woman climb down from her perch. Up close, Solona was surprised to see that the young woman was almost completely nude. She was clad only in the small viny strap that crossed her shoulders and held her bow and quiver, an elaborately woven vine belt resting low around her hips, and matching cuffs at each wrist and ankle. Her skin was a pale green color and her hair was twisted into vine-like tendrils with small flowers woven into it. She had pointed ears not unlike an elf's and sharply slanted eyes that took Solona's measure in a single glance, resting only briefly on the pendant at her throat.
"Please follow me, Gwynrhena," she said, and turned to walk from the clearing down a small path that Solona was certain had not existed a moment ago.
"Wait," Solona said, irritated at the woman's abruptness. "Who are you? And what did you call me?"
The dryad kept walking, forcing Solona to follow. When she caught up, the woman said, "We have been told of your coming for centuries, Gwynrhena. Aen Henbeanna visited us at Midsummer and told us your arrival would occur on this day."
"Who is this 'Aen Henbeanna'?" Solona asked, suppressing her irritation.
"You may know of her as Asha'bellanar. The old one. She is the keeper of prophecies for our world and yours."
"Flemeth?" Solona asked, incredulous. Then realized she really shouldn't be that surprised after recent experience and what she had read in the grimoire Morrigan had given her. The witch had clearly been orchestrating this for some time. Solona wondered if she was only ensuring that events occurred as they were meant to according to the prophecies, or if she was manipulating them to her own benefit.
"That is another of her many names, yes," the young woman replied.
"And this prophecy, the one that foretold of my coming... do you know this prophecy? I have been trying to understand the details, but some of it is in a language I don't quite understand."
The young woman nodded her head as she continued to lead Solona through the winding forest paths.
"We will help you to understand your purpose here, Gwynrhena."
The dryad paused where the path seemed to end in a thicket of dense foliage and performed a series of elaborate hand gestures, Solona watched with growing fascination as the foliage ahead of them parted, leaving a high arched doorway that revealed a large, perfectly circular grove surrounded at even intervals by several large, old trees covered in smooth grey-green bark, that stood as sentinels on the edge of the circle.
The grove had a shimmering pool in its center, dappled by what sunlight made it through the dense canopy of leaves overhead. In the center of the pool was a small island upon which rested a large throne constructed of flowering vines. On the throne sat another dryad, who resembled her guide, but whose stature was far more impressive. She was dressed in a gown of sheer, gauzy fabric that glistened as though with dew that sparkled when the scattered sunbeams would hit it. Her hair was longer than the other dryad's, but similarly twisted into viny lengths and sprinkled with small blooms. She rose to her feet when Solona and her guide entered the grove. When she rose, Solona sensed movement in the forest all around her. When she looked around she noticed that the grove had become brighter, as though the canopy above had parted to allow more sunlight to illuminate the ground beneath. She thought she could sense movement among the tree branches around them. Glancing up she was sure she could see eyes watching them from every tree.
Her guide walked forward into the clearing, stopping to kneel at the edge of the pool before the throne.
"I have brought her to you, as instructed, my queen."
"Thank you, daughter," the dryad queen responded in a voice that tinkled like a burbling brook and was breathy like a light breeze passing through the leaves of the forest. It was even more beautiful to Solona than the younger dryad's had been. Solona's guide rose and stepped across the pool on flat stones that Solona could now see just beneath the surface, and stood facing her at the side of the throne.
The dryad queen sat again on her throne and turned her gaze on Solona. "Come forward, Gwynrhena," she said.
Solona stepped forward and, following her guide's example, opted to genuflect at the edge of the pool before the woman. The dryad queen's ringing laughter reverberated around the grove.
"Rise, Gwynrhena. You and I are equals."
"What is the name you keep calling me?" Solona asked, rising to her feet.
"You are the White Queen of the prophecy: Gwynrhena. You are the keeper of the White Flame that will save our worlds from annihilation."
Solona stood quietly while the information sank in.
"But... I am not a queen. I am barely even of noble birth," she cautiously objected.
"You are the queen of the prophecy, beloved of kings, touched by dragons. Soon you will hold the flame of hope to see us through our darkest hours. Your actions will balance the worlds that are even now beginning to tilt towards oblivion."
The dryad queen paused and made a small gesture that Solona could not interpret. Gradually she began to notice creatures emerging from the forest around her, climbing down the trees and creeping out of the dense foliage. Some appeared to be other dryads, others were woodland animals, some creatures she didn't recognize. They eventually rested near the edges of the pool and sat watching the exchange between their queen and the visitor.
"As for your birth..." The woman continued in her hypnotic, melodious voice. "Names mean nothing to the prophecy. It is your blood that matters. Your blood holds the perfect balance of two worlds. For our worlds to survive, you must complete the threefold balance that has already begun in your blood with a third component, and you must complete the ritual. The ritual will balance our worlds. The fruits of the ritual will be the White Flame that illuminates the way to peace for our worlds and will ensure that balance is maintained."
Solona was beginning to understand. Her father had been an elf, her mother human. She wondered what the third component was.
"The Witchers - do they hold the third component?" she asked, feeling like the pieces were finally starting to fall into place.
The dryad queen smiled at her, "Ah, you begin to see. Yes, the Witchers hold the keys to completing the balance. They are more of the old world than they are of my world or yours, though they may not realize it. You already possess the catalyst in your blood that will allow you to undergo their trials. Their blood will provide the balance you seek. But not just any Witcher. You must seek out the Gwynbleidd. He is the one who is destined to complete the balance with you. Once you have completed the trials, his will be the only blood potent enough for the final ritual to succeed. It is his seed that will ignite the White Flame."
"Why me, exactly?" Solona asked, testing. "If all you needed was someone with half human, half elven blood, surely you could have found someone in your own world to fulfill this prophecy?"
"It is more than that, as I think you know. You commune with the oldest ones, you have been marked by them, chosen as their queen, their champion. No one else possesses the gifts that you possess. Some bestowed upon you by birth, some by war, others by kings. You are the only Gwynrhena. You are destined for this path."
Solona wasn't surprised by the response. She thought she knew, but wanted to hear someone else say it. She had the dragon mark, the elven blood, magic blood. She had the Old Gods speaking to her in her dreams, she had the taint running through her. And she had this exquisite and perplexing piece of jewelry that Alistair had given her as her farewell gift, crafted by a truly unique little dwarf who seemed to have had more insight into the way of things than she had realized. She knew the amulet was significant to her journey. It was unfortunate that she hadn't had time to speak to Sandal before she left to see if he could tell her what its significance was. She also thought it a strange form of justice that this should be her path after imposing a similar fate on Alistair. All things come full circle in the end, she thought.
"Can you tell me how to find this Gwynbleidd?" she asked.
As if reading her mind, the dryad queen pointed at her amulet and said, "Your paths are destined to cross. Listen to the wolf and you will find him." Solona touched her amulet in surprise. Was that what it was for?
"What do I do after I find him?" she asked.
"He will provide the answers you seek when you tell him who you are."
The dryad queen turned to look at Solona's guide who still stood at her side.
"Daughter," she said, "please show Gwynrhena the path to begin her journey."
The younger dryad nodded and stepped back across the pool to Solona's side.
As they were about to turn to leave, she heard the woman's melodious voice call to her.
"Gwynrhena, before you go there is something of great importance I must tell you."
Solona waited, and nodded slightly to indicate she was listening.
The woman continued, "You carry a heavy burden with this task. It is important that you let go of the other burdens you carry if you are going to complete this journey successfully."
Solona looked back at her confused, and said, "I have no other burdens besides this one."
The woman raised one eyebrow and said, "Are you certain? I sense there is another burden you carry, something deeply buried. You need to expose this burden and cast it aside if you are going to succeed."
Solona met the other woman's eyes and felt as if her deepest secrets were on display. She felt a surge of irritation that the woman would presume to tell her how to deal with her own feelings.
She said through clenched teeth, "My burdens are mine alone and have no bearing on this endeavor," and turned to follow her guide out of the grove.
They walked in silence for several hours. Solona continued to dwell on the dryad queen's warning, skirting around the memories without actually breaching them. The Circle and her ordeals there were in the past and she would never return. Never. And her current mission was far too important for her to go wading through the flotsam of the past. She just needed to make sure it stayed securely buried so it wouldn't interfere.
When they reached the eastern edge of the forest, the young dryad stopped and said to her, "This is where we must part ways. You must travel to the east, over the Owl Hills. On the other side is a small village where you will be able to replenish your supplies and acquire a mount to continue your journey. The hills are easy enough to cross, but will still take you several days, so plan accordingly. It is not safe to sleep in this forest at night, but there are Elven ruins not far from here where you can make camp."
As she turned to go she said, "Va faill, Gwynrhena."
"Va faill," Solona replied, then turned and started walking up the hilly path before her.
The hills were easy to cross, and the scenery was breathtaking. It was clear that autumn was setting in, the trees aflame with fiery colors and the air becoming crisp. It was invigorating to be traveling through a new land but she couldn't help but feel lonely at times. The weather had been mostly fair, and there was a waxing moon to follow them, so most nights she and Lusa would curl up together under the stars, and she would fall asleep and find company with the wolf in her dreams.
She was soaring through the air over heavily wooded mountains. The bright sun above her cast a dark shadow of her large body and outstretched wings that rippled across the autumn-gilded trees below as she flew over. When she passed over a clearing, she saw a streak of white that seemed to be keeping pace with her as she flew. She dipped down for a closer look and saw a white wolf running along a path through the trees. He ran up the path and stopped on a large outcropping of rock, tilted his head toward the sky and howled. She let loose a trumpeting roar in response and continued her flight towards a half ruined fortress miles before her on the horizon.
She heard harsh growls and with sudden awareness realized that the wolf in her dream wasn't the source. She came awake beneath the bright orb of a full moon and reached immediately for her staff that she had left just beside her pallet. Lusa was several yards away, growling and barking at something lurking in the darkness. She rose from her pallet with her staff aimed in the direction of the dog's barking. "Who's there!" she yelled, hoping that who or whatever was lurking in the darkness wasn't hostile.
Lusa continued to growl fiercely at whatever he was sensing in the shadows of the trees, then suddenly leapt into the shadows after it. She yelled, "Lusa, no!" and moved quickly and carefully towards the shadows he had disappeared into, her staff held out in one hand, ready for a fight. She heard sounds of snarling and snapping teeth in the darkness, accompanied by the sounds of some creature crying out in pain, and the stench of dead flesh. Her instincts were suddenly on high alert. It smells like Darkspawn... but they're not supposed to be here... and I would have sensed them, wouldn't I? She conjured a small flame in her palm to illuminate the forest around her. Just ahead she could see Lusa in the process of ripping the throat out of a naked, hairless, grey-skinned creature with sharp teeth still snapping ineffectually at the big black dog. Through the eerie shadows the struggling figures cast she could see more sets of eyes reflecting the light of her small flame. She counted three sets of eyes watching them. "Lusa, to me," she commanded softly. He shook the dead creature's limp neck in his jaw once more for good measure and then retreated back to his master's side, panting, with black ichor dripping from his tongue.
The creatures were too spread out for her to hit them all at once. She might be able to get two of them, though. She crouched down slowly next to her dog. "Lusa," she whispered to him, and pointed slowly in the direction of one creature so he could see, "Wait until I say go, then kill it." He turned and nuzzled the side of her face in acknowledgement and she had to resist retching at the scent of death on his breath. She stood again and readied her staff, extinguishing her small flame and aiming her staff between the other two creatures. "Now!" she commanded and Lusa charged into the shadows again, snarling. Using her staff to channel, she threw a paralysis spell hoping to encompass both of the other creatures in its circle, then moved forward so she could get a better focus on each one.
Something vaguely human-shaped suddenly came charging out of the shadows to her right, slashing claw-like fingers at her and gnashing sharp teeth. Her spell had missed one of the creatures. She ducked quickly to avoid the sweep of its clumsy arms and swung the sharp, bladed end of her staff around in a wide arc, neatly cutting its legs off at the knees. The creature howled in agony as its body lost support and it crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. It continued to claw its way towards her, its razor-sharp teeth gnashing and slobbering with sticky saliva. She grimaced in disgust and petrified it just as it began to grasp at her feet, then brought her staff down on it sharply, shattering its remains into a pile of crumbling shards of stone. She turned quickly to locate the other creature that was hopefully still paralyzed, finding it still standing basked in the light of the full moon, its eyes darting around frantically. Not wishing to get any closer to it than she had to, she petrified this creature like she had its brother and hurled a conjured stone fist at it, shattering it into another cascade of broken stone.
She turned and ran back through the trees to where she could still hear the sounds of fighting between Lusa and the third creature. When she was nearly there, she heard Lusa's pained yelp, and could just barely see through the shadows that the creature had the dog pinned beneath it and was bending over him with its gaping, drooling maw poised over his belly. "Fight me, you fucking bastard!" she yelled out, and hurled a fireball at its head. It screamed and stumbled around comically for a few seconds attempting to swat at the fire engulfing its head, and then collapsed into an unmoving heap a few paces away, its head still smoldering slightly and emitting the noxious stench of rotten, burned flesh.
Lusa whimpered pitifully and struggled to rise from the ground. She rushed over to him and knelt down.
"Shush, sweetie. I'll take care of you," she said, stroking his fur gently and trying to feel where his injuries were. He licked at her hands weakly and then obeyed, lying still but whining faintly as she inspected him for injuries. She closed her eyes and summoned her healing magic to sense where there was broken flesh. She found it on one side, deep gouges from the creature's sharp claws extending from his shoulder to his haunches. She felt him tense when she touched it.
"Shhh, it's okay," she said trying to sooth her injured companion. She mumbled several unintelligible syllables and passed her hands over the dog's wounds, greenish light glowing beneath her fingers as his flesh knit back together. After a moment his whining ceased and his body relaxed, his breathing becoming regular again. She sat quietly for several minutes, stroking his head and whispering soothing words to him. Finally he hopped to his feet as though nothing were troubling him and gave her a thorough lick across her face.
"Ugh!" she yelled, objecting but unable to resist laughing at his apparent gratitude. She stood and they walked back to their small camp. She placed several protective wards around them and then they curled back up together on her pallet where she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
She awoke at dawn and packed up her things, then out of curiosity went back through the trees where the fight had happened the night before and found what was left of the creatures she and Lusa had killed. In the early light she could see that they weren't Darkspawn, but despite their stench they weren't corpses, either. They were something monstrous and different from anything she had encountered before. Looking further, she found an obvious trail and followed it a bit further into the forest where she came across a small cemetery surrounded by a crumbling stone wall. The few graves within had been dug up and the remains of its inhabitants were scattered around haphazardly, bones broken into splinters as though something had been chewing on them. Lusa whined faintly next to her and she felt a small shiver pass down her spine. "Foul stuff, huh?" she said, and then turned back to their trail.
It took a few more days of travel before she encountered the village the dryad had told her of, where she was greeted by a multitude of curious, chattering children and curious but more reserved adults. The people here didn't seem that different from Fereldens, really. If anything, they seemed friendlier to her.
She was graciously given lodging with a small family of farmers. The young woman and her husband were very curious about her origins, but didn't seem very worldly so she was able to satisfy them with vague answers. She was able to learn that she was in the western part of a province called Temeria, and the nearest city, Vizima, was a week's travel to the east.
When she asked her hosts of the Witchers she got a strange response; the woman blushed deeply and her husband scowled and said, "A pretty girl like you ought to steer clear of the Witchers if you care about preserving your virtue." Then their young son who was in the corner playing with Lusa piped up about how Witchers were mighty monster hunters and he wanted to be one when he grew up. To which his father replied that Witchers liked to steal young children from their homes and perform wicked experiments on them, and that's how they made them Witchers to start with.
"They may start out little boys, but they're not human when they finish with them, if they even survive," he concluded ominously. The little boy sulked, and his mother meekly spoke, "But they do us a service in the countryside, killing monsters. They aren't all bad, but there are hardly any left anymore." She had a kind of far away look then, as if recalling a distant memory. When her husband looked at her his scowl deepened. Solona wondered what their story was but didn't want to pry.
The next morning she acquainted herself with the local farrier who pointed her to a small farm on the other side of town where she might be able to purchase a horse for her journey. He told her that if she brought the horse back to him he would sell her tack and give her a discount on shoeing as well. A few hours later she was back in the village replenishing some supplies while her new steed, a good natured gray gelding named Ghost, was getting new shoes.
When she was at the stables later, preparing to saddle the horse with the new tack she had just purchased, her hostess from the previous night came to her and hesitantly said, "Witchers have a bad reputation as people go, but they do a service and, well, they only hurt monsters."
"Oh?" Solona said, adjusting the cinch on her horse's saddle, "Why do they have a bad reputation exactly?" she inquired with a sidelong glance at the woman.
The woman blushed deeply as she had the evening before. "Well... they … um..." she looked intently at her shoes for a moment, then she looked off into the distance and quietly said, "It's said they are unfeeling, but I believe they are a lonely sort, and don't find much comfort out there with those monsters. I think they long for comfort and take it where they can. And I think any maid who can give comfort should feel honored."
She paused and looked at Solona directly, "But I don't think the menfolk like it. I think they feel threatened, but they shouldn't. Witchers don't steal women, and it's said they can't make babies, neither. At least I never heard of one getting someone with child... not ever. They just want... comfort... sometimes."
Solona understood more than she would acknowledge to the woman. She asked, gently, "So, did you know one, then? A Witcher?"
The woman looked over her shoulder to make sure they were alone, then stepped closer to Solona. Conspiratorially she continued, "Aye, when I was a maid I lived with my grandma outside Vizima and used to work sometimes as a serving girl at a tavern outside the city. One day he came in and he was so exotic! But a little frightening to look at, too. He had this terrible scar on his face," she traced a finger lightly over one eyebrow and down her cheek, "and he had snow-white hair - like yours," she said, giving Solona's hair a curious glance. "But he was very courteous and, oh, such a flatterer." She hesitated for a second, then continued, "That night when I was walking home, some men set on me... rapists..." she scowled, "and out of nowhere the Witcher showed up and beat them all silly. And then he just walked me home," she said, matter-of-factly. "He was such a gentleman, too. That night I decided that I would thank him somehow..." she trailed off and blushed deeply.
Solona smiled at her in understanding and asked, "So you thanked him with a … favor?" The other woman nodded, blushing and smiling faintly.
Solona said, "I doubt I would have done any less were I you. I guess it was memorable for you, then?"
The woman suddenly gushed, "Oh, yes! I don't think I've ever... well, my husband is the only man I've been with since, but the Witcher was just so..."
She seemed to be at a loss for words, so Solona nodded and offered, "Indescribable?" The woman nodded in response, looking a bit dreamy.
Interesting, Solona thought. She hadn't had any idea what to expect when meeting this Witcher she was looking for, but was beginning to think there might be something to look forward to after all. Anyone who makes a habit of saving young women from rapists can't be all bad, anyway. A brief memory flashed through her mind (strong arms scooping her up gently and carrying her away from a dark place, speaking soft, soothing words; gentle hands healing wounds that seemed to pierce her very soul), she shook her head sharply and shoved the memory away. Keep it together, dammit, she thought, no time to dwell on the past now.
Finished with her packing, Solona mounted up and whistled for Lusa, who came bounding around the corner of the stables with his new friend tearing after him. The little boy gave the dog a big hug that was rewarded with a sloppy lick across his face amidst an exclamation of, "Ew!" and uncontrollable giggles. Solona said farewell to the woman, who waved to her and said with a twinkle in her eye, "Good luck. I hope you find your Witcher, miss."
Next Chapter: In which she wears a fancy purple-plumed hat.